Here’s my yearly roundup of the best books released by local authors and publishers this year, just in time for your last-minute literary gift shopping. Let us rejoice in the glory of our regionally written words! Cascadia Cookbook (Said The Whale Music) Vancouver band Said the Whale has been filling our ears with their West Coast-flavoured indie rock for over a decade. Now, as a tasty compliment to their 2019 album Cascadia, the band fills our stomachs with the release of Casadia Cookbook. In this beautifully designed, 80-page feast, you’ll find Pacific Northwest-inspired recipes paired to e ..read more

The 1913 Alta Vista reservoir in South Burnaby is exposed during its demolition last week. Photo: ContributedNeighbours living near South Burnaby’s Alta Vista Park have gotten their first and last glance of a cavernous reservoir that has lain beneath their neighbourhood for 106 years. The Alta Vista reservoir, built in 1913 to collect water coming in through new water mains from Seymour Creek on the North Shore, was demolished last week to allow for the expansion of a nearby playground. About 26 metres long, 14 metres wide and 4.3 metres deep, with a capacity of more than 1 million litres, it ..read more

Aerial view of Las Vegas strip in Nevada as seen at night USA / ShutterstockIf you’re looking for an inexpensive vacation package out of the Lower Mainland this winter, Swoop is offerings a number of getaways for a steal. While the low-cost carrier offers a plethora of destinations to choose from, its Las Vegas packages offer some of the cheapest deals on the market. For example, the package below, which departs Abbotsford on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 and returns a few nights later on Thursday, Jan. 16, costs a total of $356.77 for two people. As such, the per person total comes to roughly $178 CA ..read more

A Surrey man claims he discovered too late that a beer bottle he was served at the Grand Villa Casino was chipped. Burnaby NOW file photoA Surrey man claims he accidentally drank glass from a broken beer bottle at Burnaby’s Grand Villa Casino. Gurcharan Singh Grewal filed a lawsuit against the casino and its parent company, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, among other defendants, following an alleged incident in December 2017. According to the lawsuit, Grewal was at the Personas Bar in the Grand Villa Casino and ordered a beer from the bartender. After taking his first sip, he allegedly “fel ..read more

Photo: SkyTrain cars turn a corner at Gilmore station in Burnaby.TransLink is preparing customers after CUPE 7000, the union representing 900 SkyTrain workers, announced that it would forward with full withdrawal of services on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The transit authority released a statement listing a number of options for riders if union job action causes a total Expo and Millennium Line shut down December 10, 11 and 12. It adds that they, “should be aware the travel options will not match the level of service these SkyTrain lines provide.”   With this in mind, TransLink notes that the following ..read more

Photo: smarieannachu / RedditWhat product are you willing to wait an hour in line for? For many residents of the Lower Mainland, the Compass Mini – a new payment option that looks just like a small Compass Card – is worth an hour-long wait, if not longer. TransLink rolled out the petite payment card on Friday, Dec. 5, and eager customers lined up before the Compass Customer Service Centre opened. Shortly after opening, the transit authority announced that it would limit the number of Minis to two per person due to high demand. And while the small smart card easily attaches to keychains and bac ..read more

A new report finds responding officers not negligent in the August death of Langley teen Carson Crimeni by accidental drug overdose. Photo via GoFundMeThe Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) says two police officers were not negligent when they were initially unable to locate Langley teenager Carson Crimeni in a park as he overdosed from drugs. The four-page IIO report released Monday by chief civilian director Ronald MacDonald, Q.C., states two police officers “acted completely reasonably in the circumstances” and “played no role” in Crimeni’s “tragic” death. On August 7, Crimeni ..read more

Unless negotiation is successful Monday night, Metro Vancouver will face a SkyTrain shutdown starting at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, December 10. Photo by Dan ToulgoetMany Metro Vancouver  commuters may be on edge Monday wondering if car-mageddon will kick in Tuesday if there’s a SkyTrain shutdown. With the union discontinuing media statements and negotiations under a media blackout, The Tri-City News reached out to TransLink to find out what’s going on. For now, it appears talks are ongoing as both sides in the dispute try to reach an agreement before the union’s deadline strike beginning Tuesday morn ..read more

HK BBQ Master. Photo by Lindsay William-Ross/Vancouver Is AwesomeSeth Rogen was right: “The best BBQ places are generally in the underground parking garage of department stores.” The Vancouver-born actor was talking about HK BBQ Master, the local legend in the Chinese BBQ game that is located off Number 3 Road in Richmond in the parking garage under the Real Canadian SuperStore. Rogen ended up there earlier this year on a tip from a (very smart) buddy, and it was all captured in chef and restaurateur David Chang’s Netflix show Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. While the Chang show features him and ..read more

Arctic animals like the polar bear are the focus of a new ‘pampering with purpose’ campaign from a duo of B.C. small businesses. Photo: @kpuresnow/InstagramKaren Johnson started her all-natural skincare brand, K’pure, out of her garage a few years ago. The Mission, B.C. mother of four was looking for an alternative to mass-market deodorants and lotion that were passing aluminum and plastics through her breastmilk to her then-infant son. She got to work coming up with formulas of her own, and word began to spread in her community about her non-toxic and all-natural products that work so well. S ..read more